Need advice for cycle

[bert236]

Hello, I have started cycling my tank about two weeks ago now. I started by using 4oz of fritz turbo start for my 65 gallon tank then dosed dr tims ammonia up to over 2ppm. It’s quickly fell and nitrites went up over 1ppm( top limit for Red Sea kit I have) and never came back down. Meanwhile my nitrates were climbing steadily. Hard to get exact number because the range is so large but it was pretty close to between the two top values which are 20 and 50 so I figure they were around 35ppm at the highest but it topped out like that. I dosed ammonia one other time up to around 0.5ppm just to see how fast the tank would clear it and it went back to zero ammonia the next morning but didn’t see any change in the other levels. After a little over a week of no change in nitrate or nitrite levels I decided to do a water change of 20 gallons and see how my tests were after. After that ammonia still 0, nitrites dropped to 0.5 and my nitrates down to 5. Just wondering if it’s safe to put a couple clown fish in the tank at this point or if the cycle still needs some time. Just don’t want to rush into it but from what I have read everything is normal except for my nitrites refusing to drop but my nitrates had peaked. @brandon429 maybe you can chime in?

My first thought was the accuracy of the nitrite kit or bad/expired reagents but I have tested the nitrite kit on rodi and it came back nothing and also was showing nothing on my qt tank for two days and now showing 0.05 so it’s clearly working.

 

[brandon429]

your cycle is 100% done per updated cycling science rules. no outliers exist meeting two weeks duration + fritz

the nitrite would not factor at any time, nor the nitrate.


check out 100 tanks using this rule live time we can get updates from any of them for tracking outcomes:

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status, since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the majority understand when they’re cycled...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[brandon429]

from updated cycling science this rule governs your cycle most: waiting until 100% compliance for nitrate and nitrite vs starting with a bioload right now does not get you any extra degree of disease protection in the fish about to be added.

your cycle is done to the point fish can be carried; selecting the disease prevention protocol is specifically where you're at in the cycle. thanks tons for posting!
getting updates months later is the best form of verification it will be neat to see your tank mature over time.


post pics of it currently so we can assess surface area ratios

Its hard to believe considering the written information the last 25 years that nitrite and nitrate are now neutral nonfactors in today's marine tank cycles. the offer is going over about as well as pico reefs did, in a world of large tankers, in 2001 heh. give em time.

-you met the ammonia wait time from a cycling chart
-you posted a known ammonia register drop within that time
-the surface area you'll show got implated with fritz bac in 24 hours after addition, immune to 100% water change
as tracked by Dr. Reef's seneye thread.


several objective measures were involved in assessing your start date. we only factored the burning ammonia, the rest we don't care about its cycling fluff to sell bottle bac.

 

[bert236]

from updated cycling science this rule governs your cycle most: waiting until 100% compliance for nitrate and nitrite vs starting with a bioload right now does not get you any extra degree of disease protection in the fish about to be added.

I figured that was the case but just wanted to check. Have seen you posting a ton on this type of stuff and have read a bunch of your posts on the subject which is partly why I decided to go for the big water change and assume the cycle is actually done. Thanks for replying so quick people like you on here are an invaluable resource to noobs like me.

 

[Reef.]

A couple of things…marine test kits are not designed to give accurate reading on rodi water, just salt water. Also if any nitrites in the tank then you not get an accurate nitrate reading as the nitrites will register as nitrates too, so they need to be zero to get an accurate nitrate reading.

I would test again with 2ppm ammonia and see if it clears within 24 hours, if so then yes start adding fish slowly.

 

[bert236]

A couple of things…marine test kits are not designed to give accurate reading on rodi water, just salt water. Also if any nitrites in the tank then you not get an accurate nitrate reading as the nitrites will register as nitrates too, so they need to be zero to get an accurate notate reading.

iwould test again with 2ppm ammonia and see if it clears within 24 hours, if so then yes start adding fish slowly.

Ok thanks. I was planning on dosing a bit more today just for peace of mind before I went to get the fish

from updated cycling science this rule governs your cycle most: waiting until 100% compliance for nitrate and nitrite vs starting with a bioload right now does not get you any extra degree of disease protection in the fish about to be added.

your cycle is done to the point fish can be carried; selecting the disease prevention protocol is specifically where you're at in the cycle. thanks tons for posting!
getting updates months later is the best form of verification it will be neat to see your tank mature over time.


post pics of it currently so we can assess surface area ratios

Its hard to believe considering the written information the last 25 years that nitrite and nitrate are now neutral nonfactors in today's marine tank cycles. the offer is going over about as well as pico reefs did, in a world of large tankers, in 2001 heh. give em time.

-you met the ammonia wait time from a cycling chart
-you posted a known ammonia register drop within that time
-the surface area you'll show got implated with fritz bac in 24 hours after addition, immune to 100% water change
as tracked by Dr. Reef's seneye thread.


several objective measures were involved in assessing your start date. we only factored the burning ammonia, the rest we don't care about its cycling fluff to sell bottle bac.

This is the best pic I have of the tank right now

 

[brandon429]

its perfect as it sits. its harmless to dose more, or less, it doesnt matter you paid top dollar to be ready and sure are.

 

[Garf]

Well, you’ve cleared the dangerous part of the cycle at least. The other part is presumed safe, until someone has evidence otherwise due to nitrites being rendered somewhat inert by the saltwater. Happy reefing

 

[Reef.]

Ok thanks. I was planning on dosing a bit more today just for peace of mind before I went to get the fish

View attachment 2357874
This is the best pic I have of the tank right now

Worth doing as I would have expected to see more nitrates with all the ammonia you have added.

 

[bert236]

Thank you all for your help and quick responses. Gonna be nice to get started with livestock

 

[bert236]

Worth doing as I would have expected to see more nitrates with all the ammonia you have added.

The issue (for me at least) with the Red Sea kit is the massive range for the nitrate. They just tell you to guess and estimate if your between but it’s a massive difference so it could have been closer to 50 ppm but it was to hard to tell what specific shade it was between two similar shades. Gonna be buying Hanna checkers I think when this stuff runs out because I feel like I struggle a bit with the colours lol.

 

[Reef.]

The issue (for me at least) with the Red Sea kit is the massive range for the nitrate. They just tell you to guess and estimate if your between but it’s a massive difference so it could have been closer to 50 ppm but it was to hard to tell what specific shade it was between two similar shades. Gonna be buying Hanna checkers I think when this stuff runs out because I feel like I struggle a bit with the colours lol.

Will be easier once the nitrites are zero, you don’t need to be too precise with nitrate, if lps then under 20 if a good starting point, the order I would buy the checkers is po4 definitely, then alk if you want less faff but Salifert is excellent just a little more work, the nitrate checker, same goes for that one, nice to have if you have a little extra money burning a hole in your pocket but again Salifert, Red Sea etc will be more than fine too.